British F4 heads north of the border as Ford EcoBoost-powered title race hots up

News

British F4 heads north of the border as Ford EcoBoost-powered title race hots up

10 Aug 17

10 AUGUST, 2017 – The F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost heads north of the border this weekend (12/13 August) to provide plenty of single-seater thrills at Knockhill. Championship leader Jamie Caroline arrives having made yet more history a fortnight ago by winning a record nine British F4 races in one season.

The title chase is well and truly on however. TRS Arden had their best weekend in the series last time out, with Oscar Piastri adding two victories to his name to reduce the points gap to Carlin’s Caroline.

Double R’s Linus Lundqvist also reduced his deficit to Caroline, starring on the podium twice. He’s brimming with confidence as he takes to a track which his team have traditionally been very strong at.

Team-mate Karl Massaad will view this weekend as a chance to kick-start the second half of his campaign after a luckless return from the summer break.

Carlin’s Logan Sargeant was locked in a race-long duel with Piastri for the win at Snetterton. The American has been knocking on the door of his maiden victory for some time now and is one to watch as he gives his all to finally stand on the top step.

TRS Arden’s superb Snetterton weekend saw Ayrton Simmons ensure a one-two finish, and Alex Quinn feature on the podium. Meanwhile Olli Caldwell took two Ford F4 Challenge Cup wins. Quinn knows what it takes to win at Knockhill, having done so last season in Ford EcoBoost-powered machinery.

Caldwell was prevented from a hat-trick of Challenge Cup wins by Fortec’s Hampus Ericsson who made use of new tyres and an attacking mindset to snatch class victory.

The battle for Challenge Cup honours is made even more intriguing as Richardson Racing’s Harry Webb returns. A driver with three class wins and 11 podiums.

Meanwhile Falcon Motorsport’s Lucca Allen will want to maintain his record of never having finished off the Challenge Cup rostrum.

Jacky Liu returns from single-seater commitments in China. He’s joined at GW Motorsport by Sam Smelt who came tantalisingly close to scoring points on his debut.

Jamie Sharp and Sharp Motorsport had a torrid time in Norfolk. They will be hoping to have left their misfortune behind as they make the journey north from Rochdale.

Fortec’s Johnathan Hoggard salvaged a point score on an otherwise frustrating debut, while team-mate Oliver York equalled his best result with a second place finish.

Patrik Pasma didn’t gel with the longest circuit on the calendar. Carlin’s flying Finn will hope for a more successful time in Fife. Team-mate Lucas Alecco Roy will want to follow-up one of his best performances – climbing six places to break into the top 10.

Although Manuel Sulaiman couldn’t convert his first British F4 pole position, he brought home valuable points for JHR and will want more of the same.

Fans are in for a treat this weekend with four races being staged at Knockhill, due to Round 12 of the season not taking place at Oulton Park earlier in the year because of delays in the schedule. With the grid for this race determined by the second fastest times from qualifying at Oulton Park, we go into the weekend with the mouth-watering prospect of championship frontrunners Caroline and Piastri starting from pole and second respectively.

The bumper weekend kicks off with three test sessions tomorrow, followed by qualifying on Saturday at 1130. Race one gets underway at 1430, with lights out for race two (Round 12) at 1710. The single-seater action continues on Sunday with two further races at 1015 and 1540, the latter screened live on ITV4. There’s even more excitement in store for fans with a driver autograph session at 1330 and the British F4 VR Experience in the Ford Race Centre in the support paddock.